Happy Easter and A to Z

We did this with the Cub Scouts for Pack Meeting-Super Fun, but harder to get those darn glow sticks to stay inside the eggs than we expected. (We ended up taping them shut.)

I LOVE Easter. 

I've already organized two Easter Egg Hunts, and led the Bunny Hop. Easter is a wonderful time to celebrate spring, new life, and Jesus's Resurrection. Easter morning of '99 I went to the Sunrise Service at the Garden Tomb. Nothing beats waking up Jerusalem (and the world) with the shout, "He is Risen."

Happy Easter, blogging world 

Come back Monday to find out which of the 4 themes I picked for my A to Z. I'll give you a hint:

What's your favorite Easter tradition? Have you tried glow-in-the-dark hunts before? Let me know if you're doing the A to Z Challenge.

See you Monday!

The Big A to Z Reveal Bloghop

Did you see the new banners in the sidebar? Are you shocked that a once a week blogger is attempting the A to Z challenge? Well, I am too:D

Now I know you just read The Big Reveal, but I'm cheating a bit. Below is a teaser of the 4 different options I considered (at least seriously) this past month. In the comments guess which one will be my theme for the....

1. Publishing Houses from Arthur A. Levine to Zondervan. Demystifying the many imprints of the big 5 and other big players in the publishing world.
Why I chose: because all these publishing houses and bazillion imprints were a complete mystery to me not so long ago (and at this point they still are to some degree) and maybe some of you are confused as well. Is Hyperion part of the big 5? Is Roaring Book Press an imprint of Penguin? With all these mergers who are the big players today?

2. Grammar A to Z from adverbs to your vs. you're (still working on a Z). Not that I'm Grammar Girl or will ever have her excitement for studying the English language, but I would link to her:D
Why I chose: One of my 2013 goals is to write cleaner. I thought that other writers might also be interested in learning grammar on a non-boring (read funny or at least ridiculous level).

3. Favorite Reads from Anna and the French Kiss to Zombies vs. Unicorns.
Why I chose-My favorite A to Z of last year was Kate Scott and her 5 daily recommendations in categories from Adventure to Zoink. Many of my 2012 reads came from her top picks, so in wanting to have a theme that others would be interested in, I thought it might be a winner. Besides, I LOVE talking about books.

4. Interviews of writer friends from my sister Amanda to Sara Zarr (okay, she's not my friend (yet), but if I'm lucky, maybe she'll answer a question or 2.) The plan, if I donn't know a writer with the letter, I would open it up on twitter and if i don't get any takers, I'd find information about my favorite writers (under that letter, of course) and share that.
Why I chose-Because I enjoy learning about other writers, making connections, and realizing I'm not the only crazy writer out there. Also, this would guarantee at least 1 reader per day since *hopefully* they would check out their posts.

Okay, now to decide, which one am I doing? Let me know in the comments.
Also, which one are you most interested in and why? (Not that it will change my choice, but maybe next year :D )

Want to hop to the rest of the blogs doing The Big Reveal? click here.

Happy Pi Day

π is commonly defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference C to its diameter d

Does that picture remind you of this picture?

It does as our house: We're eating quiche for breakfast, pizza for lunch, chicken pot pie for dinner, and apple die for dessert.

Any excuse to eat pie and have a party, right?


Now go eat some Pi and write on. 

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14564856692346034861045432664821339360726024914127 3724587006
6063155881748815209209628292540917153643 678925903600113305305488204665
21384146951941511609 43305727036575959195309218611738193261179310511854 
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IWSG and Two Writers Who Need Us

Oops-My body (and brain) still thinks we're in February.

Happy March all. If you're looking for a random holiday to celebrate Pi day is March 14th. And don't forget the Ides of March on the 15th or St. Patrick's Day on the 17th. 

Okay, back to business. The 1st Wednesday of every month is:

Thank you Alex J. Cavenaugh for hosting this bloghop and for being such a support in the writing community. If you want to join, sign up here. 

This is my new favorite quote. Keep aiming:D

Peggy Eddleman posted about two writers that could use our support and I'm so glad she did. She goes into more details here.

I've found that when I'm struggling, helping other people is the best way to get out of a slump, so lets give these writers some love as their books launch and they're unable to promote their own work.

Chad Morris.

His book, THE INVENTOR'S SECRET, released yesterday, but he had to cancel his tour because his daughter had a brain tumor removed last week and she's recovering in the hospital. Fake mustache's cheer her up, so consider sending a picture of you with one to the hashtag #mustachesformaddie.

You can learn more about him here.

Bridget Zinn's POISON releases on the 12th. She passed away of colon cancer May of 2011. Her story is so sweet and sad. She was young and newly married and a librarian (so one of my favorite people on the planet). You can find details here. And her book looks amazing, guys. 

COVER REVEAL: A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES BY RACHEL HARRIS AND A GIVEAWAY!

Today I have the cover of A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES  to reveal and also a giveaway of 1 print copy (US only) and 1 ebook copy (open internationally). A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES releases from Entangled Teen on August 6, 2013.

Here's a bit about the book before I show you the cover.
Alessandra D’Angeli is in need of an adventure. Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, who visited her for a magical week and dazzled her with tales of the future, Alessandra is lost. Until the stars hear her plea.

One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility.

With the clock ticking, Less knows she must live every moment of her modern life while she still can. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?

The Cover

Isn't it beautiful? I love the light colors and how they made her dress blend into "modern" attire.

Exerpt:
Glaring sunlight permeates the thin veil of my eyelids. Even though it is noonday, the light is exceptionally bright, at least in comparison to the shelter of the tent. I shield my brow with a curved hand and force my protesting eyes open…then at the sight before me, promptly shut them again.

Sounds become crisper in the darkness. Rumbles, shrieks, wails, and hums. Unfamiliar chirps and impossible beeps. Piecing together my tattered, wilting courage, I take another peek and find nothing is as it should be.

Where my palazzo usually sits is an enormous structure with golden doors and red columns, a metallic roof, and a massive mounted dragon. A pair of terrifying, sculpted beasts guards the entrance. The ground is no longer one of cracked stone or even the damp earth of my garden, but assorted gray blocks etched with handprints, slipper prints, and a series of strange markings.

I stare at the mysterious shapes on the stone before me and gasp as they all at once become clear: Harry Potter, 7-9-07. Rupert Grint. Daniel Radcliffe. Emma Watson.

While a few of the letters are different than I am used to, it is as if my mind is faster than I, readily making sense of it all. Stooping to see the words closer, I place my hands in the indentations below the word Emma and marvel at the fit.

I twist my neck around, hands still pressed into the cool hollows, wanting to share the astonishing news with Reyna. But she and the tent are gone. In their place, an overwhelming crowd in varying degrees of scandalous dress swarms the square, each costume more shocking than the last.

Exposed ankles, exposed legs, exposed stomachs…

I avert my eyes heavenward, twin flames of heat burning up my throat and into my hairline. Clutching the note, I press my hands against my knees and prepare to stand. The rough texture beneath my palms causes me to freeze.

A horrible, unimaginable truth tries to be acknowledged, and I reluctantly run my hands along my thighs, hoping, praying my fingers will brush against the soft, cool silk of my surcoat. But when they follow the curve of my lap and meet in the middle, mortification demands a glance down.

Gentleman’s trousers!

Giveaway of A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES
The giveaway is for one print copy of A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES (US only) and an e-copy of A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES (open international) to be sent to the the winners as soon as they're available.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As a teen, Rachel Harris threw raging parties that shook her parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels. As an adult, she reads and writes obsessively, rehashes said embarrassing fodder, and dreams up characters who become her own grown up version of imaginary friends. When she's not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, you can find her homeschooling her two beautiful princesses, hanging out with her amazing husband, or taking a hot bubble bath…next to a pile of chocolate. A Tale of Two Centuries is her second novel.